Therapy dogs offer comfort in Newtown after shootings

A certified therapy dog, Murphy had traveled with his owner, Wayne Livingstone, from Cranston, R.I., on Tuesday to try to bring some comfort to the grieving community of Newton. (Patricia Doxsey)

NEWTOWN, Conn. - He walked silently among the mourners who had gathered outside the Saint Rose of Lima Church on Wednesday, pausing as people reached out to stroke his silky coat.

A certified therapy dog, Murphy had traveled with his owner, Wayne Livingstone, from Cranston, R.I., on Tuesday to try to bring some comfort to the grieving community of Newtown.

"I just thought we might be able to help someone," explained Livingstone. "If there's one small thing we can do to comfort people we'd like to make a difference somehow."

An elderly couple on their way to the funeral mass for 6-year-old Caroline Previdi paused as the woman reached out to rub Murphy's head. A short time later, another woman, younger this time, bent down and hugged the dog's neck.

Livingstone said Murphy, a 10-year-old golden retriever mix, has been a certified therapy dog for five years. He said that in Rhode Island, Murphy works with the elderly and Alzheimer's patients.

"Just having that connection, just that something they can emotionally interact with, without words, it's soothing, it makes them feel better," said Livingstone.

Murphy is among a number of therapy dogs that have been brought by their owners to Newtown in the days after the Sandy Hook massacre to offer whatever solace they can.

In downtown Newtown, Corrie Russinko and her dog Leilu walked along the sidewalk, offering aid to mourners. Earlier in the day, Leilu, a border collie and member of the Good Dog Foundation, had gone to Reed Intermediate School with Russinko to visit the students and staff.

Advertisement

"It was a wonderful day," said Russinko of the visit.

In addition to Leilu, who left her favorite tennis ball among the stuffed animals and tributes at a downtown memorial to the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, dogs from the Yale-New Haven Hospital dog visitation program also walked among the downtown memorial.

According to the Therapy Dogs International website, any dog over the age of one can be a therapy dog, provided the dog is well-behaved, calm and willing to be approached and touched by strangers. Dogs registered with Therapy Dogs International pass a temperament evaluation for suitability to become a therapy dog, including an evaluation of the dog's behavior around people using service equipment such as wheelchairs and crutches.

According to the Yale-New Haven Hospital dog visitation program, research shows that pet therapy promotes healing and comforts patients undergoing various procedures and treatments.

Livingstone said that in the two days since he and Murphy arrived in Newtown, dozens of people - young and old - have approached them to pet Murphy and to thank Livingstone for being there.

At that moment, as if on cue, a young boy broke away from his parents and ran to Murphy to pet him. As his parents approached to gather their son, they too, reached out to stroke the dog's fur.

"Thank-you for being here," the boy's father said. "Thank you so much."

Not all kids who play baseball are uniformed with fancy script across their chests, traveling to $1,000 instructional camps and drilled how to properly hit the cut-off man. Some kids just play to play.